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- Trump signed 225 executive orders in his first year back in office, compared to 220 during his entire first term.
- Actions in his second term included mass deportations, National Guard deployments, and prosecutions of political enemies.
- Many of his executive orders faced legal challenges, with 164 significant cases brought against his administration in 2025.
One year ago, President Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term, and he has since taken the country and world by storm.
Since his swearing-in on Jan. 20 last year, Trump has shaken the American political system by pushing the limits of executive power, orchestrating a blitz of mass deportations, planning dramatic shakeups at federal agencies, establishing major tariffs, founding peace agreements for warring nations, and deploying the National Guard in the streets of major cities.
Though the president's first-year moves delighted his MAGA base, they were often controversial among those outside it. Trump's aggressive use of the military and federal law enforcement, along with other actions such as prosecutions of his perceived political enemies, has many Democrats calling him an authoritarian − and vowing strong opposition.
One of the biggest topics in his first year was his use of the executive order. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, an executive order is a written directive that orders the government to take specific actions to ensure "laws be faithfully executed."
During the first year of his second term, many of his executive orders faced lawsuits challenging their actions; several were blocked by federal judges, while others remain stuck in court.
Here is a look at how many orders the president signed in his first year back in the White House.
How many executive orders did Trump sign in the first month?
During Trump's first term from 2017 to 2021, he signed 220 Executive Orders. Between Jan. 20 and Jan. 31, 2017, Trump filed seven Executive Orders. In the same time frame in 2025, he has signed 45 orders.
In the first two days as president in 2017, Trump only signed one order, which was to minimize the economic burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The last order issued in January 2017 was to reduce regulation and control regulatory costs.
His final Executive Order in 2021 called for additional steps to address the national emergency regarding significant malicious cyber-enabled activities.
Trump's first executive order as president in 2025 was to end the weaponization of the federal government. His last order in January 2025 was to expand educational freedom and opportunities for families.
In the first two weeks as president in 2025, his 46 Executive Orders included efforts such as:
- Restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship;
- Ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing;
- Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization;
- Ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity; and
- Defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government.
How many executive orders did Trump sign in his first year?
According to the Federal Register, which tracks all of the executive orders, both signed and published, Trump signed 228 executive orders in the first year of his second term in office.
Among recent presidents, he has the seventh-highest total of executive orders. However, this total is based on only one year, whereas the other presidential totals were based on four and eight-year terms.
Here are the recent presidents who signed the most executive orders in their terms, according to USAFacts:
- Ronald Reagan: 381
- Bill Clinton: 364
- Richard Nixon: 346
- Jimmy Carter: 320
- George W. Bush: 291
- Barack Obama: 277
- Donald Trump (term 2): 228
- Donald Trump (term 1): 220
- Gerald Ford: 169
- George H.W. Bush: 166
Court cases against Trump's executive orders
Even though the president has signed 225 orders, not all are currently in effect, as many have been challenged and remain before the courts.
According to Just Security, an editorially independent, nonpartisan daily digital law and policy journal, 567 significant cases were brought against the Trump administration in 2025. The organization only tracked cases made against the Trump administration and does not track individual immigration or citizenship cases.
In these cases challenging Trump's executive orders, 47 are awaiting a court ruling, 24 had their cases closed or dismissed, 31 are pending appeal, and 62 were either blocked or temporarily blocked.
These cases addressed topics such as civil liberties and rights, DEI, the environment, government grants and loans, immigration and citizenship, internal institutions, removal of information from government websites, and the structure of government and personnel.
According to the New York Times, courts have issued preliminary injunctions or temporary restrictions on the administration's actions. Several cases are ongoing
The Supreme Court has not ruled on the administration’s order regarding birthright citizenship; however, it ruled in June that some district court judges had overstepped their bounds in halting the policy nationwide. A new lawsuit brought by the A.C.L.U. is currently contesting the policy.
Several lawsuits challenge the Trump administration’s moves to prohibit recognizing transgender people according to their gender identity. Cases have included placing transgender women who are federal prisoners in men’s housing and withholding federal funding from hospitals that offer gender-related treatment to patients younger than 19.
Many of these open cases will continue further into 2026.
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal and Tennessee. She can be reached at